Aku no Ane
by The hazel-eyed bookworm
Summary: When Kagamine Len was taken captive by a cult, he expected to die there. Not to accidentally summon a demon who now disguises as his twin...
1. His sister, summoned

The cage he was in was decidedly poisonous, the stench of his emaciated, uncared-for body beyond suffocating. The rags he had been wearing had been on his body for a long time, only being changed when they were so worn that they no longer resembled cloth. He had been changed quite a few times now.

The reek that permeated his nostrils wasn't nearly as potent as it had been some time ago, but many of his fellow children prisoners had disappeared. He didn't know if they were alive of dead, simply that they were...not there.

"The Kagamine, aye?" one of the many shadowed faces around him asked.

They all came in masks, their voices muffled and snickering.

They were talking like he wasn't there, like he wasn't listening, like their hands weren't currently groping around his body to check that he had enough flesh on him. They'd tried to feed him well, although he'd denied most of it – attempting to give it to the other captives – but lately he'd regained weight in his lonely little cage. After all, if he didn't eat it willingly, they'd shove it down his throat, and he had a bit more pride than to have them _feed_ him.

He felt familiar shackles latch around his wrists and he felt his body steel against the contact. He struggled a bit more against the arms holding him, but didn't as much as whimper.

"First one to make him scream gets an extra reward," one of the men chortled to the others, who guffawed in return.

Those cold hands dragged over his flesh quickly enough and he found himself lifted off the ground and being carried over someone's shoulder to the room with a draft. His skin crawled like a hand trailed down his spine. The room with a draft was worse than any of the others… the room with a draft meant…

His restraints were stretched taught until he was spread out across the floor, his legs wide and his arms helpless to defend himself. Those brutal hands tugged at his meager coverings for a few seconds before they gave and his backside was exposed to the room.

He heard huffs of air, gasps and eager exclamations that he tuned out. He had no wish to hear his captors as they… as they…

The boy flinched at the calling of his name and at the texture of a hands gripping his thighs.

He almost broke… almost cried out, pleaded for the torment to end, but remembered himself at the last moment and bit his tongue instead. Blue eyes opened against a blindfold and, for the first time in the lifetime that he'd been there, he attempted to look around to locate the person calling him. He could see very little beneath the blindfold, only a few different tuxes and occasionally the flash of one of the gentlemen's hair… but they weren't moving, weren't calling out… there was only one thing in the entire room that appeared to have motion, a thick darkness that swam lazily across his vision.

"Kagamine Len..."

Len didn't see its eyes; it had none, but he had the distinct impression of eyes staring down into his. The creature had no form, no real shape. It vacillated and wavered between human, animal and other things found only in fevered nightmares. It couldn't make up its mind about what shape to take. Rapidly it shifted from old man to young woman, from black bird to great cat. It was a thousand things and nothing all at once.

Len struggled against his restraints uselessly as he observed that unfamiliar creature reaching for his body. True, he'd been touched by hundreds of men – he had no doubts – but he never enjoyed it, and he would never give in to it without a fight.

"Well, aren't you…" there was humor in its voice. "A very small master." Bright teeth grinned at him like a Cheshire cat. "You have summoned me."

"You have summoned me…" it repeated, lips moving against Len's skin. "This fact will not change for eternity. What has been sacrificed will never be returned." It paused and watched Len for any sign of comprehension.

 _I'm your sacrifice?_ He thought. Somewhere in his dying body a fire ignited. _That's not fair! I've been used… they gave me no choice. I was used! First I was their toy, then they wanted to kill me to summon you…_ The demon stared at him with curious eyes. _They used me and now they want to use you…_

The demon's grin widened. "But, _you_ have summoned me…" Len nodded. He understood; his soul was already the demon's, he wasn't going to get it back. He had nothing more left to lose and so much to gain. "Now…" the demon kissed away the blood from his lips. "Choose."

"Is this happening inside my head?" Len asked as he tested his bindings, realizing he had none.

"Now," the demon said patiently. "You give me a name, a form and a function."

"Why?" Len felt oddly nervous being put on the spotlight this. It was utterly absurd to feel like this after everything that had transpired tonight.

"You are my master." The demon indulged. "I will serve you and you alone for as long as you live. You need to tell me how you want me." It chuckled, a low rumbling sound that was almost a purr. "I doubt you want me like this all the time… I can be your familiar, the black cat on your doorstep or the raven on your shoulder, ready to pluck the eyes from anyone who opposes you. I can be the general of your army, the advisor at your side. I can be the woman who warms your bed and keeps your body happy. I can be your assassin, the poisonous snake who lurks in the bed of your enemy." The demon paused to look at the boy. It made a thoughtful sound.

"Perhaps not…" its voice changed, becoming something comforting, soothing. "You are a very small master after all." Its sharp teeth dulled; its smile became gentle. "I can be the kindly old cook who bakes special sweets just for you. I can be the nursemaid who holds you through every bad dream and thunderstorm or the doting old uncle who brings you every toy you ever wanted. Or if that's not enough…I can be your older sibling who is always there to listen and protect you from the bullies who would steal your pocket money."

"A sibling..." Len mused thoughtfully, knowing he had all the time in the world. "I've always wanted a sibling." he decided. "You'll be by my side whenever I call. You'll protect me. You'll do you own life, but still be present in mine. You'll never betray me. You're right, I am small, so you shall be my power."

"Ah…" the demon sighed happily, its voice shifting into a cheery pitch. "I knew you would be a challenge. I will be one hell of a sibling then." The indistinct mass of shadows was replaced by a young girl in grey. "Does this meet your approval, Otōto?" she asked with a pleasant smile.

Len just looked at his newly-created sister. "A twin? I will call you Nee-chan, I suppose. Fix your eyes, please." The demoness' eyes were still a glowing cyan, and the moment the words left his lips it had been replaced with a more normal shade. "If this form makes you happy… please, my name?"

"Rin…" Len answered without thinking. "Since you're my twin, a reflection."

The newly christened Rin smiled in approval. "What should I do first for my little twin?"

"Rin, do me a favor, and please _please_ KILL THEM!" Len shrieked forcing himself into a sitting position.

"Yes, my brother," the taunting figure above him stated before an inky blackness descended upon the room and the sound of screams echoed in the air.

Len had never heard a sound more musical. He howled with uncontrollable laughter as the people were killed, tears streaming down his face as his weakened body struggled to keep him upright.

He was in such a state of hysterics that he didn't even notice the blistering pain that rushed through his right eye moments before his vision went black and a bright, burning lavender seal appeared where there had once been blue.


	2. His sister, contracted

As the searing pain soothed down to more of a sharp pin prick, Len fluttered his eyelids open. He was greeted by grey, bloodstained ground and a pair of tiny, pale feet.

He dislodged himself from the fetus position his body had locked itself into. His legs were shaking; his whole body was trembling. From fear or excitement, he couldn't tell. Maybe both.

His gaze went to his captors whose bodies were lying on the floor. They were all dressed in finery, as he had seen from under his blindfold. But now the exquisite suits were dyed scarlet with their blood.

All of their hearts were ripped out.

The full effect of his action hit him. He had knowingly condemned these people to their deaths. He searched through his heart for regret or doubt. All that came back were the faces of the children he had been locked with.

They deserved far more than what happened to them.

Somewhere in his damaged mind, Len was sure that watching a young girl kill men with all the glee in the world was unhealthy, though he couldn't deny the relief it brought him.

When the blood-stained girl gestured towards the bodies in an 'eat up' gesture, it brought Len out of a shock and into another. "I'm sure I'll find something else."

"There is literally nothing edible in here except them." Rin observed, sounding faintly amused at his startled yelp. "You need it. How long has it been since you last ate?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Mismatched eyes watched her warily, half expecting the demon to claim his soul then and there.

Len and his 'sister' observed each other. She had his legs, hands and features. Their hair was the same length, but unlike his, hers shone like spun gold. Her skin was ivory, again different from his pale, ravaged skin. Her lips were full and curved into a smile, which made Len shudder.

But it were her eyes which both captivated and horrified him. The cerulean orbs were like his, and yet they weren't. She had a wintery disposition, demanding his soul to come out. He couldn't keep her gaze for long, so his eyes lowered to her hands. And his stomach lurched.

Her fingers were dripping crimson blood of the men she had just killed. A single drop of blood landed on the floor, and he looked up again, shivering. His own fingers he wiped on his body, as though he was the one with the bloody hands.

As though he was the one with the bloodstained soul.

"I haven't eaten in a long time." Rin finally said, smile twisting. "Which reminds me, you never did specify the contents of our contract, Len." Her voice was like wind chimes- tinkling, musical and eerie. It was as though someone had taken his voice and ramped it up multiple pitches. But her original demonic rasp was still distinguishable in the undertones. He realized what was different with the smile.

It didn't reach her cold, harsh eyes.

Rin advanced towards him, bloody fingers reaching forwards, and he flinched back, back into the stone wall. His body was too weak to do anything else. As the girl pulled him up by his shoulders, the belated realization that he was still very much naked would've made him blush if he had the strength to do so.

Even so, even when he was freezing cold and in the arms of someone who had killed so many people before, it wasn't hard to think about what he wished to gain for this.

"Whaddya wanna know?" His throat was raw after all the hysterical laughter. Her unwavering stare was unnerving him.

"When will the contract end? Everything ends, after all. Everything except evil." At that she let out a musical chuckle. It made goosebumps rise all over him.

Her taunting laugh was irritating him. He wanted to wipe it off her face, to shock her. An idea came to him. "You're my sibling. My twin. Our contract will be over when you make me love you. That good enough for ya?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line, and her eyes widened just a fraction. "You...you want to love a demon?"

"Not only that," he continued on, despite the demon opening her mouth. "I want you to love me too. For real." He finished, and if this was a normal situation, it would've been funny to see her expression change from overconfident to shock in a matter of seconds. "Can you do that?" he finally asked, forcing himself to look into her frosty eyes.

It seemed like an entire lifetime passed before Rin bowed gently. "Yes, my brother."

The fact that he was devoid of clothing didn't seem to mind Rin much. At the very least, she didn't express it. It was a while before he had the strength to get up and rob one of the men off his clothing –only the upper half, as the lower half would be too big for him.

They should be escaping right now, even though he knew people would ask question about the boy and his doppelgänger, staying in that prison for more he absolutely had to was more than Len could take.

The girl was wearing a simple grey dress, while the boy now sported a jacket that went past his knees and an improvised bandage around his right eye.

"This won't be hidden for long," Len mumbled, trying to discern the way out with only one eye. He had never truly understood the importance of perception of depth till then. "It won't," Rin answered from where she had been drawing on the wall with red, as she waited for him to get up.

Once again he was stuck with the realization that this girl was a demon –an otherworldly being who probably saw him as nothing but her next meal; a creature meant to predate his kind that he had named her his kin so easily. Someone who would keep his soul trapped for all eternity.

But even eternity doesn't last forever.


	3. His sister, caring

Len took a deep breath and let it go softly. All he could see on every side was a sea of green grass. They were in the countryside, with no inhabitants anywhere nearby. No wonder they managed to kill those children so easily, even though they screamed at the top of their lungs. But no matter now.

He was free.

Rin came up behind him, just brushing her shoulder with him.

A demon.

His mind still had trouble believing that demons truly do exist. But that would explain the evil that ran rampant in the world. A thought popped up in his head.

"Hey, Rin. If demons exist, then what about angels?" He looked into her icy eyes. He still wasn't used to them and their harshness, but he wasn't afraid of them anymore. The demon was his to command now, and all that he COULD do to him would be to devour his soul.

Which it was planning on doing anyway.

Her brows scrunched up together, and Len couldn't help but appreciate how *human* the action was. "Yes, angels exist. Not that you're about to meet any now, your soul belongs to me." At that she licked her lips in an animalistic manner. Sighing, he looked ahead. "Where do we go now?"

"Where was your home?" Pensive, he turned to face her completely. "It burned down."

"Then as a sister, it's my duty that you have better living conditions. I'll do something about it. Do we go from here, or do you want to stay here longer?" His skin crawled at the thought of staying at the house of death longer. "We leave. Now." Am image of all the bodies lying around with their hearts missing popped up in his head. "Rin, can you do something for me?"

"What is it?" He forced himself to turn, to face the place he had been held captive in for so long. When he spoke, his voice came out an octave lower. "Burn this place down." A feral grin stretched on her lips. Her cold eyes seemed to gleam in their icy beauty.

"With pleasure, brother."

And Len stood there as the flames danced, razing the place from existence.

* * *

Two hours.

Len waited for two hours on the curb of a street of a town while Rin went and looked for their means for survival. As he waited for the arrival of his new 'sister', Len felt as though he'd burst into tears at any moment. His parents were dead, his house burned to the ground, he had been used in every possible way, and now he had unwillingly sold his soul to a demon. Life just seemed to hate him.

At the end of those two hours, Rin popped up next to him, all smiles that never reached her eyes, with clothes and food in her hands. "Here, I got you some clothes. And some bandages, you will have to cover your eyes."

They ducked into an alley and Len quickly donned the clothes. They were different than the rags he was used to. They were of better quality, and cleaner. They were what any child of a middle class family would wear. He looked at Rin. Her clothes were similar to his, and her hair was clipped to either side of her head, although still open. He, for the first time in his life, put on shoes. They were comfortable enough, though they pinched his toes. He quickly wrapped the bandage around his eye, and tied his hair up with the tie she had brought. When done, Rin handed him a bun which he tore into.

He was famished.

"So, where are we going?" He asked between mouthfuls of bread.

"We should go to the police, see if there are any relatives to take us in," Rin said in a contemplative tone. After the younger twin finished with the food, he made a gesture for her to lead the way.

* * *

 **The Twins-Who-Survived, by Yamada Hanako**

 _As we all know, the 23 of December of the past year there was a fire in the residence of the Kagamine family, a fire which killed both Kagamine Hisao (45) and Kagamine Lily (41). No body was found of the son, so it was assumed Kagamine Len (13) had died in the fire, and after a long search to prove whether or not the fire had been intentional, the police closed the case._

 _What has transpired in just a few hours will prove to you that they made a big mistake._

 _In the wee hours of the night, two identical children stumbled their way to the police station of Nakai Town. "The only way to distinguish them was that one had their hair tied up, and that the other spoke with a higher pitched voice." one of the officers related. "They looked dirty and tired, we mistook them for street folk at first. The boy looked the worst, though. Injures all over, of all kinds. Half starved. Nearly toppled over several times."_

 _The girl presented herself as Kagamine Rin, older twin of Kagamine Len. "We were taken by a cult the night our parents died." she explined. "I think they wanted to summon a demon or something..."_

 _The Kagamine family did not have any other children except the boy, or so it would seem so, because a DNA search quickly declared that yes, the Kagamine family had an unknown daughter nobody knew about._

 _Why was this daughter cast aside? For what purpose did those cultists reunite the twins? Who will take care of them?_

 _As soon as we get news, we'll know._

 **See other pages:**

 _Testimonies of the Mirror Halves: "She's my sister," is the only thing Len will say about the girl, ... PAGE 10_

* * *

Dear Aunt Meiko,

We thought that perhaps it would be good to write to you before the end result. We're not doing so in order to accuse nor demand anything. We do know there's some bad blood between you and our parents, after all. Having you apply for custody was more than we expected, if we're honest.

The therapy sessions are going fine, I think. Rin's been a huge help as always.

'Len will have to wear an eyepatch though. He's looking over my shoulder now and saying he won't tolerate pirate jokes J'

Kagamine R&L

* * *

Dear Rin and Len,

I was unexpectedly gratified to receive your letter.

I am relieved to hear that the sessions are going well. What happened between me and your parents was long before you were born, so you shouldn't worry about it. You will move in as soon as the judge accepts my petition.

Haigō Meiko.

* * *

Dear Aunt Meiko,

I cannot continue without hating myself. I am tired of hating myself, but it is almost as familiar as a friend. I want to know what it will be like to wake up and not wonder why I still exist. We were supposed to die with the cult, it feels like. Somehow I fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning. I don't know what my purpose is now.

Len

* * *

Dear Len,

Live.

Haigō Meiko


	4. His sister, helpful

Len had made his way down the stairs and walked outside into the play area of the courtyard, checking to see if anyone was there. There wasn't. He pulled out the objects he had been hiding, namely a Rubik cube which he placed on the ground beside him, and a kitchen knife. The boy looked at it for a moment before making his way over to the tree in the middle of the yard.

"What are you staring at?" Len growled, all power rush and fake bravado, "Well? Well fuck off." he said before walking closer to the tree, holding out the knife, "What's your problem… are you scared?" he snarled before stabbing the knife into the tree, "So scream… Scream! Scream for me you girl!"

On a pendulum the knife moved. In out in out. The frigid air was making his breath misty, though he didn't notice that at the time, too focused on his frenzy. The world had shifted and blurred around the edges, and in his mind there was a person in front of him.

There was a sound behind him and he turned around. For a moment, Len thought he was in front of a mirror.

The blonde looked at Len for a moment before speaking, "What are you doing?"

 _Psychologically preparing myself for tomorrow. Couldn't sleep. Anxious. Nightmares._

"Nothing." Len replied a little nervously, "Umm… what are you doing?"

"Nothing." Rin said plainly. She didn't look concerned that Len was armed. Not in the slightest. _And of course she wouldn't,_ Len thought a little hysterically, _she can tear me apart if so she wishes. Jesus Christ._

With impossible grace, the girl walked over to him and began inspecting the other object Len had taken with him. As she did, Len saw that her feet were bare.

"Aren't you cold?"

Len waited for an answer, but it didn't seem like he would get one, with Rin staring at the Rubik's cube. At least, not until a few minutes had passed.

"No."

"How come?"

The girl looked up at him, gaze unwavering, and Len felt a chill go down his spine. "I've forgotten how."

Len stood there for a few seconds, trying to come up with an answer to that statement, before the demon spoke again. "What is that?"

"What? This?" the boy twin asked as Rin turned and held up the cube, "It's a Rubik's cube. You don't know what a Rubik's cube is?"

"Is it some kind of puzzle?" the blonde asked, staring at the toy.

"Well… yes." Len said, smiling slightly at his sister. "You want to try it?"

"How do you do it?"

"You want to get each side to be a solid color. Just twist it around." Len advised, sitting down beside her, placing the knife to his left.

Rin nodded at him, and after a few more seconds of contemplation, she began twisting and turning the cube in her hands, and he's watching Rin's hands as they manipulate the puzzle until all six faces showed solid colours. It took her less than two minutes.

When Rin finished, she held the cube up with a flourish, "Like this?"

"Amazing," Len breathed. Maybe his assumptions of her had been wrong. And maybe she would protect him from Gakupo.

Len went to sleep with a smile on his lips.

* * *

"Would it kill you to be in the bathroom for less than half an hour?!"

"If you had prepared everything beforehand, as I suggested, you wouldn't be in such a hurry." the dismissive voice called out from behind the closet door. "Go eat breakfast with Aunt Meiko and get dressed later." he was pretty sure he heard Rin laugh after the last word.

He cursed himself for not even once objecting to the notion of being the 'younger'. It meant the demoness was in a position of power over him, something she displayed at every. given. opportunity.

Rin aside, Len wasn't sure which was the worst part of living with Aunt Meiko.

One, the fact that they were living with her was a painful reminder that his parents were not alive anymore. Two, he now had a 'sister'. An 'older sister' who had made abundantly clear that if she ever got her mind on something his best bet was to murmur 'Yes, Nee-chan,' and meekly follow. Which he would have done anyway, as he did NOT want to see his 'twin' angry.

Three, said 'sibling' either had done a complete 180 on her personality and had gotten along famously with Meiko, or (and Len thought this one more likely) she was merely that good of an actress and was putting up a show for her amusement.

It was quite an issue that he was no longer an only child. Whoever had told Meiko that they would have liked to share a room? It was strange, it was awkward and wholly alien. Well, for him. Rin didn't seem to have ingrained the concept of 'privacy' and 'personal space', which meant that he would often backtrack from the door, apologetic and red-faced.

There was the click-click of the door, and the creeeak as it swung open. The wooden door swung aside, revealing his new twin, all blue eyes and white smile and a new school uniform. Len wondered what kind of make up did girl demon used, she didn't look like she just woke up!

Wintery eyes looked at him critically as their owner stepped past him. "You've got shadows under your eyes, Otōto." she noted, "Nightmares again?" She giggled. Once. A mockery of a nice smile. Wide open, all big and bright.

Len's stomach plummeted, and forgot words existed for a moment. He had nightmares practically every night, and it was a wonder he didn't wake the whole household up. Least of all Rin. She was always asleep, her back to him as he tried to calm down his frantic heart.

She was mocking him. Was making him remember. Blue eyes averted her gaze as memories flashed before his eyes. Small. Tainted. Weak _weak_ **weak**.

"None, Nee-chan," he mumbled as he hurried past her, and the honorific was dripping with venom.

* * *

"I never really got to know him. But still."

"Did you hear there's two of them now?"

"This is crazy. Insane."

"I heard he was forced to be in a cage."

"I heard he was forced to do much worse, if you know what I mean."

 _They aren't here, they aren't talking about me, they don't exist,_ Len thought over and over again, tugging at the collar of his jacket for comfort. He didn't like being the center of attention. The lights and sounds distracted him and made him lose focus, so accustomed he was to the dark and dreary. Of silence. The cues he had learned, to be able to prepare himself for what was to come didn't apply anymore.

He was supposed to wait for Rin so they could get her schedule fixed up. He was supposed to be heading home. He was supposed to never see the light of day again. He was supposed to die in the ritual.

It was too much. Too much. Sensory overload. Too many people, too many words around him. Too much movement. He could detect dozens and dozens of people walking around. Sneakers and sandals and moccasins and trainers and boots an-

 _(When he is lucky, the boots pass his side._

 _Luck has never been his lady.)_

"...mine-kun. I'm talking to you!"

Len blinked _once_ twice **thrice** and the world came back in a tsunami of color and sound. This was good. For a second, no time had passed at all. The world refocused and he was staring in the face of the leader of the group that, in another time _(another life)_ Len had considered his personal tormentors. Well, not anymore. He didn't know which word he hated more now. Girl or Lamb.

Len didn't exactly know what happened, but the next thing he knew was that blood dribbled from his nose as he hit the ground and spots of crimson flicked onto his shirt.

"Shit," Gumi said, sounding shocked rather than gleeful. "He's actually bleeding! How hard did you hit him, Akira?"

Akira shrugged. "I only gave him a shove, I didn't even touch his face! Weak, Kagamine-kun. That's pretty weak."

Len opened his mouth to retort and blood dripped in, finding its way onto his tongue. It tasted revolting. He spit it at the red-haired boy with all his might, wishing he had something contagious.

Akira took a frantic step backwards to avoid the spray. Len took a moment to be absurdly pleased that he had managed to do something that surprised the bastard, something that made him lose composure for even a split second.

Before, he would have never even thought about doing that. He blamed Rin for that new development. What would follow would be worse.

"For god's sake," Gakupo crooned from behind them, rocking back on his heels, "that's not proper for a _girl_."

Len stayed down. Three against one. Numerical disadvantage.

"I saw him dressed as a girl today in recess. Finally decided to embrace your true self, Kagamine-chan?" Gumi taunted. The suffix made Len's blood boil.

"I believe we need to give you a lesson in discipline." Gakupo advanced.

Len closed his eyes.

The bell rang to signal the end of lunchtime and the start of a new lesson, but Len was a million miles away from his maths class.

* * *

He went home afterwards, licking his wounds. He couldn't go to classes in that state, there'd be too many questions. He intended to go to the bathroom to change, as it wouldn't do for his Aunt to see him bloody, but going to the bathroom means crossing the kitchen, and by the looks of it Meiko was in the kitchen.

"Jesus," she said when he had _almost_ managed to sneak past her . "How many bullies?"

Len's eyebrows drew together and he stopped to a halt. "Sorry?"

"One that hit you, and some bystanders, most likely. You won't tell anyone at school who's doing it, so it's just getting worse." his Aunt Meiko continued almost distractedly, fully pausing from her task (seeing if there was any leftover cereal).

"How do you know all that?"

"There's blood under your nose, and you look to be in a fair amount of pain with your movements, but from the way you're holding yourself up still, I'd say there was only one hitting you and one or two watching. There's always a lookout in groups of bullies, one who's even more cowardly than the others so he doesn't get involved. You haven't told anyone who's doing it, because you've come home in the middle of a school day, rather than going to your headmaster. Or your sister. Or me." Meiko's eyebrows drew together, and Len wondered how could it be that he had hidden it for years, yet this woman had seen it right away.

"Fucking hell, you need to start standing up for yourself, Len. Or tell me, or your sister. We are your family." Meiko looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Rin...Nee-chan, she..."

"What about me?" Rin poked her head through the door, and Len wondered if she simply teleported there. "I came home when I couldn't find you anywhere. Miku-chan and Piko-san said they understood. There were some boys looking for you... Kaito-kun and Oliver-kun?" Rin said in a rush, not noticing or not caring about the topic of the conversation.

Maybe it was because he didn't have any bruises. No, the marks were all under his clothes. They're clever, he'll give them that. Akira really hadn't caused the nosebleed (just a happy coincidence), because he had never hit Len's face, never split his lip or given him a black eye – too obvious. He knew he had a plethora of green, yellow, brown, blue, and purple. He had a rainbow under his shirt.

Len managed to slip to his room as Meiko gave Rin a lecture on the importance of not skipping school.

Not even ten minutes after he had gotten confortable, Len jumped as a big ball of...darkness just appeared from behind the door and stopped in front of him. It dissolved into Rin.

Without even reacting to his strangled yelp, Rin caressed his cheek, "Someone did that to you, didn't they? Who did that to you?"

"Nobody," Len frowned, "Some kids at school."

"Otōto," Rin huffed, "You shouldn't let them hurt you. If they try to hit you again, hit them back."

"But there are three of them."

"Then you hit them back three times as hard," Rin forced the boy to look at her, "And don't stop until they do."

"What if I'm not strong enough?" Len picked up a book and threw it across the room. He let the silence stretch between them, and Rin climbed up the bed to look at Len properly, "Then I'll just have to protect you myself."


	5. His sister, prideful

"I have something to show you," Meiko said lightly, pulling a photo album into her lap. She smiled, showing her dimples.

Rin looked at the first page of photographs curiously.

"These are from my time at school," Meiko continued. She pointed to a picture of a lanky teen with half her face obscured by a book. She was sitting on a step of stairs. "That's me when I was twelve. And this one here is of Lily and I. We were working on a Biology project."

Len smiled as he saw the two pre-teen girls stand in the shallows of a lake with their pants rolled up to their knees and their shirts rolled up to their elbows.

"You look a lot like her," Meiko noted gently, watching for a negative reaction.

Rin's eyes widened as she really realized what he was seeing. "That's my…"

"Mother. Yes." Meiko turned the page. "I found some of your father. See, you have his blue eyes."

Len stared at the picture of the boy in his school uniform sitting under a tree and laughing.

"Stop," Rin ordered in a quiet, firm voice. She sank her hand into Len's hair, holding firmly. Her eyes seemed to pierce into him. "It's not your fault, Len. They died trying to get you to safety. It didn't have anything to do with you."

Tormented blue eyes looked up at her beseechingly.

"I never knew them," Rin explained. "Meiko wanted me to know them. She wanted us to be able to see them when we think of them tonight."

Len relaxed a tad. His parents were dead, he had known that before he was put in the cage, but they were also figures he used to long for and wish would save him when he still thought he could be saved.

He leaned into Rin's side and listened passively as Meiko showed Rin the rest of the album.

As Rin listened to Meiko's stories and asked a few questions, Len let the voices wash around him comfortingly. He watched from a safe distance the boy and girl in the photos who looked like him, like Rin. He tried not to feel anything in particular and focused on the fact that Rin wanted to see their parents.

Meiko felt near to crying by the time she got through the album. Both the twins had retreated. Rin was calm, but she was clearly unengaged. He wondered why Rin felt so strongly against connecting to her parents and suspected the answer would break her heart. The way Len's eyes had become unfocused and distant told her all she needed to know about Len's emotional state at the moment.

Rin hopped off the couch and led a passive Len into their bedroom.

* * *

Hatsune Miku considered herself a social butterfly, great at making friends and easing up tension. So she had taken making the new girl happy with the school her personal mission.

Seemingly appearing out of the blue, Kagamine Rin was an enigma. According to her biology class, fraternal twins always had at least one difference, given that they had different genetic material. Rin and Len, on the other hand, we're identical. Give them the same hairstyle and voice and they might as well be the same person.

Well... That wasn't entirely true.

Miku had known Len from afar, just another face in a sea of unfamiliar visages, but knew enough of him that he was a social pariah. Only associating with Shion Kaito, an athletic boy that had strangely taken a liking to him. So Len wasn't even good at school work. Or socializing. Or keeping Gakupo and his gang away from him.

Rin, from what she could gather...

If Miku had to describe the older of the twins after two full weeks of meeting her, it would be 'perfect'. In appearance, in singing, in pleasing the others. She was funny, ad had a sharp tongue if pushed. However, Miku could see there was more than that with the blue-eyed girl. Once, she caught the younger girl staring at something with such anger and purpose it sent a chill down her bones.

"Who's that long-haired boy?" Rin asked, eyes never moving.

Miku traced the target of the glare and frowned. "Oh, that's Camui Gakupo... I don't know much about him since he's a few year older than us..."

It was a half-lie. She and Camui had dated a few months prior, but given that the boy enjoyed eyeing other girls and even make passes at them, it had ended relatively quickly. The green-haired girl eyed the purple boy with thinly veiled disdain. "You're better off not talking with the Duke of Venomania."

"The Duke of Venomania." Rin repeated the name in a strangely tight voice, the one you get when you find something funny but can't voice your amusement. "Is he some sort of royalty?"

"What? No!" Miku yelped, almost offended. "Venomania is the name of his street. And the Duke part... well I'm not sure about that part, to be honest. Why the sudden interest?"

"He's been hurting Len," the blonde said simply, never taking her eyes off the purple-eyed boy.

Miku blinked in surprise. She had never thought of Rin as a protective person -quite the opposite, actually- but there she was, surprising her yet again. "You're going to my house today." the green-eyed girl declared.

For the first time, Rin's eyes strayed from their path and went to look owlishly at her. "Eh?"

Miku giggled. "Your brother told me that Meiko didn't buy you or him many clothes as she didn't know which ones you liked... So we're going in a shopping spree after classes. No waits, ifs or buts."

"What-"

"None of that either. C'mon, Rin-chan! It'll be fun!" Miku was sure her eyes were shining. Rin's smile had gotten a bit too stiff.

"Whatever you say, Miku-chan..."

* * *

While Rin was with Miku suffering through the pain of trying out new clothes, Len found himself at the park. He was planning of meeting Kaito there. The park was covered in snow and the lake in the middle was frozen enough for skating.

As he shifted his hat, Len felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Fancy a swim?" Gakupo said with a chuckle in his voice as he squeezed hard before walking away.

Len watched as Gakupo and his friends walked off before looking over to the side, something catching his eye. He walked over it and got a metal pole that had been pulled out from the ground.

"Stop playing with that and be sure to watch out for holes in the ice over there." A voice said behind him. Len grinned as he turned around.

"Kaito-kun, finally." The boy grinned to the blue-haired kid in a matching scarf, who was watching him with amusement. "I'm glad you didn't get detention today."

Kaito's grin dropped. "Hey, don't be mean. I figured I'd give you space, you know, with the whole came-back-after-a-year-with-a-new-sister."

Len raised an eyebrow at him. "And that you've had detention all week has nothing to do with it."

"Please," Kaito huffed, "How was I supposed to know that lightning up a match were Neru was applying spray deodorant would make her hair catch fire?" he continued under Len's disbelieving expression. "C'mon, when have my calculations ever been wrong?"

"Well…"

"Shut up, that was one time."

As Kaito spluttered indignantly, Len stood there, looking at the pole and waving it around a little. He looked over to the side and gripped the pole in both hands. Kaito turned around and his stance changed.

"So… have you thought about it? Want to go swimming?" Gakupo said as he stepped up to Len.

Kaito practically bared his teeth at them.

"No." Len answered.

"What's the stick for?" Gumi asked, looking a bit unsettled at the weapon in Len's hands.

Kaito just couldn't help himself. "To stick it-"

Len glared at the group, "To hit you with… if you try anything."

"Oh really? Now when did you become a brave little girl?" Gakupo said before stepping closer to them. Len took a step back, "I'm going to push you, and then I'm going to stick that up your ass, and you aren't going to do anything… You're used to it, isn't that so?"

As the others lunged, Kaito stepped in to ward off Akira and Gumi. That left Len with Gakupo. He was so tired of being a victim...

Len swung.

Fear is always more dangerous than anger.

He hit Gakupo on the side of the head. He didn't move for a full then seconds. And then his hands came to the side of his head, which came out drenched in red. The sensations registered, Gakupo crumpled to the floor and let out a terrible wail.

Both Kaito and Gakupo's friends had frozen. His ear had been split in two. The blue-haired boy shot out to Len.

"Len, we need to leave. Now."

* * *

Word got out. He got a dressing down from the Headmaster. He was dreading a talk with his Aunt.

She surprised him.

"Nice one, Len," Meiko opined, the smirk audible in her tone. "How long's the suspension?"

"A week," he grimaced and shrugged. "Could be worse."

He went running upstairs and burst into the room, terribly startling Rin and almost making her choke in a slice of orange. Len practically bounced up to her, taking her hands and giving her a kiss on the cheek as a stream of 'Thank you's fell out of his lips.

"Otōto, what-"

"I did it, Nee-chan! I hit Gakupo with a pole!" Len related, eyes shining. "He's got to go to the hospital and I'm suspended, but I did it!"

Rin smiled at him, both with eyes and with lips. " _Bravo_."


	6. His sister, talkative

The following week had Len being made aware of a few things:

Gakupo had needed a lot of stitches.

Rin wasn't that bad.

Meiko was proud of him.

Rin had signed them up for a singing contest, 'Vocaloid' it was called. As far as he knew, a few of his classmates would participate on the category 'The Seven Deathly Sins'. Kaito had chosen Greed, Gakupo -before he hit him that is- had chosen Lust, Rin had chosen Pride. Somehow that didn't surprise him.

Since Rin had already provided her cover for the theme -Selfishness, being a Princess, an absolutely incompetent and homicidally petty ruler, Len would have to provide the other song, Selflessness (he wondered if Rin had added the line of the servant with a similar face, for laughs).

Even so, he wasn't too upset about being told about the contest. He knew how to sing, and Kaito would help him drawing the 'video', as he preferred it that way and there weren't any photos of Rin and him as children.

Rin had amused herself with the 'princess' thing for a long while, even saying things like 'Bow to me!'. Len, if he was in a good enough mood, would play along with a "Yes, Oujo-sama' or 'Yes, my lady'. The only reason he did it is because, frankly, Rin's reaction every time was a thing of beauty.

He wondered what her reaction would be when he showed her the video.

* * *

Slamming his math book shut, Len threw his head back in exasperation. He looked with envy at his sister's already finished homework. The girl was sitting on her bed, reading a magazine and munching on oranges.

Rin had started hanging out with him a lot during free periods. That had allowed people to finally realize there was a new set of twins in town. For a few days, all eyes were on him. He didn't like it. It made him uncomfortable. He wondered how it was possible that Rin basked in the attention. Len didn't like people ogling him, it reminded him of Back Then.

And of course, with people paying attention to them, came the comparisons. Honestly, he should have specified. He had wanted 'a sibling' not 'a perfect sibling'. And yet, that's what Rin was. Good grades, good with people, good with singing...

And then there was Len, the weird kid who looked like a girl and couldn't maintain a decent conversation without somehow screwing it up.

Rin liked oranges, absolutely adored kitties, her songs were creepy... He realized how little he knew about Rin. She was his big sister, he should be able to think of something related to her that was different from what a normal classmate knew.

He decided to give it a try. "Hey, Onee-chan."

Rin's head whipped around, the magazine lowering. "Yes, Otōto?"

The chair scrapped against the floor as he stood up, walking towards his own bed. "I have been thinking about you for days." he revealed as he flopped down on the matress.

Rin turned her full attention to him, rolling to her side so she could look at him in the eye. The girl with cold eyes wasn't what you could call an open book. Len had trouble reading her. "Excuse me? About what?"

"Just you. Your life."

"...Why?"

The boy removed his bandage briefly, allowing Rin to see the seal on his eye. Her seal. "Because you are in me." he said, softly. "I cannot get away. So I have been trying to keep myself separate from you. I have been trying to work out why you do what you do..."

"Well, it's not that I have to do it. It depends on individual preference, I think," the girl replied after a few seconds of gathering her thoughts. "There is more than one way to flail a dog, as they say. Some decide to possess the humans they wanna consume— a popular approach; you are sure to meet a good number of them. Others curse their prey, raining misfortune over their heads until they long for death and welcome it with open arms. Personally, I prefer to… get my hands dirty. I find that I obtain the tastiest results if I season the meal myself."

Len felt a chill go down his spine. "So you could have taken my soul. Back then."

She hummed. "Mjm. I could have, but I didn't." her eyes were becoming less human by the second, and Len had to fight the impulse to run. "Contracted souls taste worlds better than normal ones." she could see it, the morbid curiosity in the boy's eyes, quarreling with his fight-or-flight instinct, locking him in 'freeze'. "I thought you would be a challenge. Besides, this is fun." she finished with a big grin.

"Eh?" a mix of awe and terror was cut off by confusion, though the tone was meek. In the other being's presence he felt small, breakable, and even worthless.

When had she moved to his bed? "I have always have to act a certain way, behave like this or that, sometimes my other contractors chose my appearance. And let me tell you, there were some sick fu-"

"Other contractors?" Len felt a stab of something in his chest.

"Yeah." she started counting with her fingers. "I've been a wife, a daughter, an advisor, a butler, a familiar, a scapegoat, and many, many more." she got closer to him. "But you, my brother, are my favorite. It will be okay. Don't worry." A hand as cold as the first snow ran through his hair. It _comforted_ him. And Len didn't know what to do with that little snowflake of a thought.

* * *

He was her most interesting one so far. And after the rollercoaster that had been her five last contractors, she wasn't going to let her baby brother continue without a bit of exposure to the supernatural. Who knows, it could be good to him. Make him braver.

Although she had to wonder whether she was doing good in who she was calling. Well, Nemesis was completely out of the question. She didn't get along well with her fellow demons.

Ah, screw it, Len needed a friend after all. Blue eyes stared at her as she called on her cellphone.

"Hello Luki!" Rin chirped.

"Luka. I go by Luka."

"Well hello Luka, this is Kagamine Rin."

"I don't know any Rin."

"You know...," the girl gritted her teeth. "...Sebastian?"

 _ **"DARLING!"**_ She startled suddenly and the phone nearly fell out of her hands.

"Luka, I have someone you'll like to meet..."

In the middle of copying Rin's math homework, Len shivered. Just what friend was his sister going to introduce him to?


	7. His sister, liar

Whatever Luka had expected while preparing for Sebastian's arrival (and willingly this time!) whatever form he could take, she wasn't expecting this. No, better, yet, he wasn't expecting these. Twins.

"…You're beautiful," she whispered in awe.

The boy twin stared at her for a good while- most probably because she was as awed as he. Looking at both twins, to Luka was like a mirror, the children had the same hair, eyes, face, but her looking like him wasn't the reason why he called her beautiful in the first place.

To her surprise, the boy smiled, and for added amusement, the girl tried to regain her former professionalism. "Well, it's because we look the same," she laughed softly, brushing away a few strands of blonde hair.

The spell was broken.

"I knew I sensed a handsome man around here, Sebas-chan!"

Len had expected all kinds of ugly demons, not a pink-haired woman with a chainsaw who immediately grabbed him.

Speaking of Rin, she was standing off to the side, laughing her head off as the woman -Luka- spun him around.

"Right, you go by Rin now." Luka said, putting him on the ground. "Though this form is a bit too shota, don't you think?"

Len inched back. "Rin, I ask that you clear this misunderstanding." he spoke in a too calm voice, in contrast with the exuberant woman in front of him.

Rin grinned. "Nah, I don't think so."

A spike of anger swelled inside him. "Rin is the girl!"

Rin had frowned when she felt the burn of the seal in her hand, but she was completely furious as soon as Luka started laughing her head off.

"A teen girl?! Ah, you're losing your touch, Sebas-chan!" she crackled. "Still couldn't keep your hands off tiny little brats after all this time, hmmm?" Luka inquired with a sharp toothy grin.

"This is Luki- Sorry, Luka. A Shinigami. You're well-versed in folklore and mytology, right?" Rin asked the boy.

He scratched his head. "Yes to both, I- Wait." the gears in his brain started to turn. "Shinigami. God of Death. Why did you bring me to a God of Death?"

Luka was temporarily forgotten as Len inwardly fretted. Had Rin grown tired of him? Did she not want to be bound to the contract anymore? Or was she just that hungry?

He stopped himself from speaking, or lashing out. They both stared at each other- Len with a thousand hidden questions in his head, and Rin with the hopes that he'd just trust her, even if it's hard to.

"Whether you like him or not," Rin said, huffing, "he's under my care. My little brother," she proudly added. "So take care of him and show him good manners and love, and always watch him when I'm not around-"

"I'm not a child!" Len exclaimed childishly.

"Listen to your big sister," Rin cooed.

* * *

Let's talk facts: Rin had never liked Luki- sorry, Luka, as he went by these days. The Shinigami had had a crush on her since the day the demon took a butler form (Sebastian). She had always been between horrified and getting a restraining order. That being said, the second she sensed Luka was at ease with Len, alarms went out in her head.

If Luka shifted that crush on Len it would give Rin a major headache and maybe Luka would come over to Meiko's house when she wasn't there to protect Len or monitor him. She knew it sounded incredibly protective and territorial, but the boy was her little brother! And a great meal!

Wanting to leave, she decided to go up to Len and extend her hands, showing her empty palms to him as she grinned.

"I will foresee the future," she said solemnly.

Len looked at her palms. "What...will the future hold?"

"...You'll have to go buy me ice cream," she cheekily said. "After we finish homework."

Luka had only spoken to Rin and Len for a while before the elder sister dragged her younger brother out in her excitement to show him more things, but she picked up enough from the exchanges.

Len was so alike, and so unlike Rin.

They've only exchanged pleasantries and each others' names, but Luka instantly took a liking to the young boy. Len was polite- he used his proper honorifics. He seemed quieter than Rin, but that was too early to judge. Maybe if the young boy started opening up, he might be more talkative, or even more so than his counterpart.

Only time would tell, unfortunately.

* * *

They ended up meeting Kaito at the ice-cream stand. Len wasn't surprised. Rin was actually kind of impressed. He didn't know humans could eat so much ice cream in one go without suffering of brain freeze.

They did make a strange trio. A boy with bandages over his eye, a girl with gloves that would get dirty for sure, and one that practically inhaled his ice cream.

He never cared much for ice-cream, but countless times he had been with Kaito in this exact place, waiting for his parents to get out of work. Kaito would get two or three outrageous flavors and Len would get banana ice cream and Rin would get orange and-

Len's skin crawled and his gut twisted, because he remembered his mother, he remembered his father, and it was far too wrong to remember his parents with Rin there.

Because Rin hadn't been there until a few months ago, and he was forgetting that fact with alarming frequency.

"Why the long face, Len?"

The blond looked at Rin, at his mirror. At the intonation of his name. It had sounded so...so...

 _Affectionate_.

* * *

For the first time since...Back Then, he was dreaming.

In _his_ dreams he could be himself. In his world he can be _anyone_. He imagined a world of absolute peace. There were no people, no crimes and he could finally surrender himself to a fitful sleep. He even dreamed in his dreams.

In his world he was protected. Only one person _(thing, monster, friend, demon)_ exists. He held onto his protector with all his might in fear of losing what was most important to him. His knight -Princess?- held him closer to her body, clutched him possessively as she whispers loving words into his ear.

" _You are mine."_

The boy closed his eyes and smiled. The warmth of the body holding him brought him to completely nothing. His dreams were filled with happiness. He danced and laughed as his sibling grinned in his shadow watching over him with protective _(lustful)_ eyes. Its home, heaven.

" _You belong only to me."_

The world was nothing, the past forgotten and all that truly mattered was the person _(thing, monster, sister, protector, princess, demon)_ who stood before him with arms wide open, a small but clear smile set upon the pale face. He ran towards the outstretched arms knowing he would find comfort and sleep within them. Yet, in the back of his mind he felt something was missing, something was extremely wrong. He ignored it and continued to run getting closer and closer until finally he was wrapped in a warm blanket of love and protection.

He looked up and smiled, his eyes showed bright with joy as the figure held him tighter looking down at the young boy held close to her body. Though the boy felt safe in these arms, the feeling that something was wrong continued to nag at his mind. In fact, when ever he was even near this body the feeling always came up almost like an instinct, a forgotten memory, _a warning_.

The boy knew something was not right but the comfort he felt overrides anything else.

 **Run**.

For as he stared at the eyes of his sister he saw the devil's face. The glowing cyan eyes stared back at him, enjoying the pain and fear that shone upon the young boy in her arms. The girl didn't let go of the boy though. She held him tighter to her body, almost crushing the boy of any air.

Her eyes, the cyan eyes he saw in his dreams. No, the cyan eyes he saw when he was awake.

No.

The cyan eyes that were everywhere, always watching and always waiting. They can see right through him. Right through to his soul. It isn't love he felt anymore in the arms of his friend _(thing, monster,_ _ **demon**_ _)_.

And when he opened his eyes from his dream, all he saw was cyan.

Warmth surrounded him. It blanketed his every sense to the point that he was numb to any other motions around him. The ashy smell invading his nose hinted at burning, but he could care less, so long as these arms stayed around him.

He hadn't felt this safe, this protected in almost a year… since…

Do you ever just feel like the world is always watching you? Always judging you as you walk by, glares and disgusted looks upon their faces as they look at you as if you were just another piece of trash that missed the bin? Unpopular, unlucky, undesirable, intolerable, unloved and just plain out _unwanted._

In a short time, Len was able to forget, if only for a few hours, that the girl in front of him was a creature of the dark.

He had been about to bolt, or try to, because this was the first time she had ever shown any kind of reaction to his night terrors. But then, he remembered.

 _'Stay with me until I fall asleep, Nee-chan.'_

The nightmares were too much, and he didn't want to go to Aunt Meiko about it (why?) so he relied on her. It frightened Len how _willing_ he was to seek comfort from the hands that will one day kill him.

She cared about him, she had to. The contract dictated it.

And so, he merely smiled, and asked 'Tell me of Hell' as a bedtime story.

* * *

When they came back from school the next day, it was with a heavy heart. Well, Len was. With the news that Gakupo would return to school two weeks from now, Len knew he was well and truly fucked.

Rin merely smiled at him from her bed, playing with her Rubik cube. "Don't worry about tomorrow, Ototo. Things will be fine."

He turned to face her as he undid his ponytail. "Don't lie."

Rin did not lie. At least, not like humans did.

Humans, Len knew, were wicked creatures. Worse, perhaps, than the devils who tempted them— and they lied every minute of the day. Over trivialities, over trifling… over the most important and life-changing issues that one would ever be forced to face. They did it for many reasons, each stupider than the last: they lied to their families, as if that might protect them. They lied to their friends, simpering as they scammed and schemed. They lied to themselves.

The demon smiled, holding up her left hand, the one with the symbol of their faustian contract. "Len, remember, I am not human… I do not lie, like humans do."

Black lies— dark and cloying as molasses, the words sticky and ensnaring. White lies— harmless on the outside, but oozing poison from within. Gray in between… Good intentions may have paved the road to Hell, but cruelty was the adhesive that bound the bricks together.

And so Rin did not lie. Not like humans, anyway.

But she lied like a demon, and that was so much worse.

"No," Len conceded. "You really don't, Nee-chan."

Inflection was a funny thing, and one of Rin's favorite toys.

 _Aku made ane desu kara— I am merely a sister._

Syllabic emphasis was just as important as the individual letters that made up spoken words, the tone in which one's dialogue was uttered. It was an intangible plaything, the metaphorical curtain which concealed the creature's clever tricks (and never mind the girl behind it)— the screen that hid the monster as she formed puns, each one as slippery and sly as her sickle-smooth smile.

 _Akuma de ane desu kara— I am a devil and a sister._

Len knew how much Rin loved her word games: as a (sister) demon, it was only natural… innate, even.

 _I do not lie, like humans do._

He had promised Rin his soul.

Sworn an oath, and now bore the mark.

 _I do not lie like humans do._

"But still," the fair-haired boy whispered, "You lie."

The girl looked down at him, cyan eyes glowing, and he understood there was something not human cuddling in bed with him. The only one that didn't expect things from him, because she already had what she wanted. But he couldn't bring himself to care. She would love him. Care about him, at the very least, and Len wanted something to replace what he had lost, even if it was insincere.

"Lie to me."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I order it."

"What a silly child my little brother is."she laughed, amused. "Very well. What sort of lie should I tell?"

"A human lie."

"I do not lie like humans do. I am not sure I know how."

"I command you to try. Just this once."

"In that case…"

Two spidery fingers tip-toed up the staircase of Len's bony spine. Her right hand drifted; working against the soft cheek. The gentle touch sent electricity shooting from jaw line to tailbone; without further encouragement, the boy's chin tilted backwards… and, as always, Rin loomed above him, pursed lips curled into their perpetual, spiteful grin.

Nose brushed nose— lashes tickled the boy's temple. And into his waiting ear, Rin breathed:

"' _I_ love _you, little brother_.'"

Len felt his back stiffen, his eyes burn.

A cold chuckle fell from the blond's smirking mouth.

"…you give yourself far too little credit, Nee-chan," the petite male muttered. "You can lie _exactly_ like humans do. A natural, as they say."

A tongue of fire—no, a tongue of flesh— lashed at the bony hollow behind the child's ear lobe. "Would you like to hear me lie like a devil now, my brother?" Rin murmured, lambent digits coiling in and out and in and out of her contractor's stiffened collar, mimicking motions that turned the boy's alabaster skin a lovely shade of scarlet.

"Why not." The retort was flat, but husky with intrigue. "Let me hear it."

Beneath Len's crisscrossed ankles, his bed screeched. Inhuman hands (in skill and in strength) wrenched the boy around like a wheel on a carriage. And so it was that arms transformed into muscled prison bars; a lifted knee became a grinding, wanton blockade— and all the while, a half-lidded gaze of incandescent teal bore into the face of the mortal peon who had been foolish enough to enslave a demon of her caliber.

Rin's treacherous mouth descended, contorting into a sneer as she whispered into the night:

"' _I_ hate _you, little brother_.'"

Their lips met in a fervor of stomach-turning (need, want, desire, _passion_ ) disgust, hands pushing and clawing and pulling, pulling, _pulling_ —

And Len no longer knew which lie to believe.


	8. His sister, angry

Len had decided to think of that night as an extremely vivid dream. Because, demon or not, doing that with his sister was… it was…

Wrong. Twisted.

No matter if he had agreed or not –which, to be honest, he wasn't sure himself. Wasn't sure what he was getting into. In fact, recalling his experiences with the cult, he was sure he would have said 'no', but things happened way too fast, and it was over before he knew it.

He didn't know what to believe.

He didn't know what to think about Rin, either.

She loved him. She hated him. One of it was a lie and he honestly couldn't discern one from the other. Did it matter, in the grand scheme of things?

Rin hadn't pressured him into talking about what had happened, it was like that night never happened at all. Which in a way he appreciated, and in another… he really didn't.

One thing was clear: He would meet his end by her. She would be the one who end him. Or at least, his life in the mortal plane. Len wondered if it would hurt, having a demon eat up his soul. Logically, he knew it probably wouldn't, considering that he wouldn't really have a body to feel pain with, but his soul was literally what he was.

Things had been uncomplicated until that night. He had lost his parents, he had gained a sister, and her nature was something he never wanted to think about. That night had left him reeling, once he became capable of processing it.

Love, lust… What difference there was? Well, there was a pretty big difference for him, but what difference there was for her? He hadn't specified when they made their contract, so he wasn't sure.

Len wasn't able to look her in the eye, hadn't been able to do anything at the time. He wanted to focus on other things, like learning when Gakupo would and his cronies be back so he would skip school for a few days, but that didn't seem important right now.

He could continue living with the knowledge he and Rin had let…that happen, or he could just end things now. He had locked himself in his room to think, yet now he was certain that had been a bad idea.

"So tell me, where should I go?" he mused aloud to the empty room. "To the left, where nothing is right, or to the right, where nothing is left?"

If… If that's how it was going to be, if she really wasn't capable of loving him, then… Why had he made the contract in the first place, if in the end, he would cease to be?

His eye itched, and he fought the urge to scratch it.

He removed his bandage, and the boy jumped back when the girl he had been thinking about materialized in front of him. He didn't know what to say. I didn't mean to doubt our contract. I'm just feeling confused, I'm sorry. I can't do this right now. I don't know what to feel.

She looked mad, though not wholly surprised. Maybe it was an expected outcome, maybe it had happened before. He didn't know.

"I don't even know why I put up with you." Rin's face was a mask of cold fury. "This is the last time I challenge myself."

Suddenly there was darkness, and Rin was gone, and he was alone, glancing back and forth. He felt something grazing his lips. A kiss, just like that night.

And in less than a heartbeat, without any warning, he felt something floating away, something had been taken from him and it _hurt and it hurt hurt make it stop_.

Len collapsed, lungs emptying as he thought he heard screaming. But barely any sound came out, his lungs were bruised, tightening and suffocating as his soul writhed in anguish. Desperate to latch on, to find something to hold onto.

He heard screaming, but Len barely noticed, locked in his own self turmoil as everything broke apart. It took him a few more seconds to realize the sound was coming from him. Huh, he didn't know he could get this loud.

"No, no, no, no!" Len cried. He stumbled blind, hands tracing over the bedroom's floor as his soul fractured.

God, this feeling. The consuming lingering emptiness, only growing with every gasp of air, in every ounce of ruthless understanding. His vocal chords must be dust by now.

 _Rinrinrinrinrin where are you helpme helpme_

Len couldn't breathe. Every fiber of his being was crying out, but the void only growing.

And it wasn't stopping.

"What a pity."

That voice.

Len's soul latched hold, grabbing onto that one small ounce of familiarity. It was almost soothing if it weren't for Len's soul shattering emptiness. The boy twisted round, his pupils darting back and forth, with every movement numb, slow, muted.

"Give it back," Len said, hands scrabbling at his face. Blue eyes got impossibly wide, ponytail undone in a desperate movement. The boy was barely hanging onto reality, the weak connection was faltering, rippling around him.

"Give it back," Len repeated, voice not holding steady, as he remained watched by unfriendly eyes. He blinked, and saw something else.

There were footsteps, loud and deliberate. Each one approaching straight towards Len as he drew backwards on the floor, clutching his chest, each breath without oxygen.

The blackness shifted as quickly as it had appeared and Len blinked rapidly at the sudden influx of light. He raised his hands to shield his gaze as he focused on the figure which stood before him.

Len's heart twisted. His being leaping out in an attempt to reconnect to what he had lost.

"R...?"

But it wasn't. It took Len a moment to adjust, to realise that he was still alone. With barely an anchor to stable his aching heart. Instead there was this presence, wrong in every sense. Like his sister, but not. It was like an angry buzzing was flooding into Len's senses, suffocating but empty and without substance.

"Akuma."

The demon smiled and it wasn't a particularly nice smile. It was mocking, condescending and her eyes gleamed with a sense of horrible satisfaction.

A grey mist floated beside her. Len blinked again, and saw himself, on the floor, in a terrible state. Oh. He was dying, wasn't he? He was dying, and soon he would be just a soul.

The girl was relaxed. She knew Len was no threat. Rin wasn't there to defend him.

"And here I thought you would be worthy of my time," the demon said softly, her hand reached out to linger just above Len's eye.

Len's soul twisted, desperate to lean in, to sink into her, but at the same time it was repulsed, twisted and falling. He wanted out. He only wanted Rin.

Len swayed closer, and the demon only smiled in response. Len's soul was still burning as the emptiness continued in relentless pain.

Len was broken. Soulless.

"Please?" Len gasped, throat raw and eyes burning.

The demon smiled, teeth sharp.

Len was too afraid, but his desperation was overwhelming, unrelenting. Was Rin gone just like that, like his parents? Or was she really just standing right behind him, suffering the same nothingness as Len?

She was neither and Len's soul ached, splintering at the cruel realisation of Rin's position.

Len's voice broke, tears welling in his eyes.

"N... Nee-chan-"

Rin was doing this to him.

There was no heartbeat, no rush of affection or any other piece of emotion.

The demon had stopped smiling, was kneeling beside him.

Len's eyes were burning, tears creeping down his face. The shock was still fresh, ricocheting through his every being. He attempted to crawl forwards, to reach out, as if being closer to Rin would somehow help. He didn't mean to put their contract in doubt. He truly hadn't meant to.

She bent down, put her face near his. He wanted his soul back. She kissed him, exhaled. So she gave it to him.

The emptiness was replaced with too much at once, so suddenly that he blacked out for a moment. The room came back in a wave of grey and black. His whole body was tingling, lungs gasping for air. His heartbeat was going a mile a second, threatening to burst out of his chest.

He felt the cold, wooden floor under him before he turned his head and was met with a pair of identical eyes.

Rin. Rin was kneeling beside him.

For a second, he wanted to hug her. But the second passed as he realized just what had happened. As he remembered again. Rin was kneeling beside him, and her cheeks were wet.

"Otōto, I-"

"Stay away." he managed to croak out, voice weak and raw and tired.

Rin trembled, voice wobbling. "I'm s-"

Len leapt back from her extended hand, nearly insane with fear. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

He had to leave. He only knew he had to leave.


End file.
